He had plenty of support even before a five run ninth. Bryce Harper started the scoring with a two run single that extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and Daniel Murphy had two RBIs and hit his 12th homer. Stephen Drew had three hits and three RBIs, while Ryan Zimmerman drove in three runs with a double and a single.

Gonzalez , who grew up in nearby Hialeah , improved to 7 3 in 13 starts against his hometown team with an ERA of 2.19. He had a cluster of friends and relatives in attendance, and that’s where Justin Bour’s bat went when it slipped from his hands on a swing in the fifth inning.

“Gio has been great,” Harper said. “I’m hoping he pitches like this the rest of the first half and gets the start here. It would be incredible to see.”

The NL East leaders went 7 for 14 with runners in scoring position, but it was still 0 0 when Edinson Volquez 3 8 walked Michael A. Taylor and Trea Turner in the third inning, and they advanced on a double steal.

With two outs, Harper tried to bunt on the first pitch — a curious move by the slugger — and pushed it foul. He golfed the next pitch into center for the Nationals’ first hit to put them up 2 0.

“I don’t hit Volquez very well,” Harper said. “If I can lay a bunt down with a guy at third and get a knock and score a run … but it worked out.”

Pitching to Harper backfired for Miami, so the next time he came to bat, when the Nationals again had a runner in scoring position, Marlins manager Don Mattingly opted for an intentional walk. Zimmerman foiled the strategy with a two run double.

“They’ve got a good lineup,” Mattingly said. “They put you in a box in a number of ways.”

“I’ll probably go 0 for 4 tomorrow. I appreciate that,” he said. “Nah, I’m just trying to have good at bats, and good things will happen.”

The streak is the longest of Harper’s career in a single season.

NOT STOPPING

Ozuna ran through a stop sign to score Miami’s first run. Ozuna reached on a single in the fourth and came around on a double by J.T. Realmuto, ignoring third base coach Fredi Gonzalez’s signal to hold at third and easily beating the throw home.

As the Marlins celebrated, Gonzalez looked into their dugout with a sheepish shrug.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Nationals Drew replaced 3B Anthony Rendon sore neck , who was held out of the lineup but was available in an emergency.

UP NEXT

Nationals RHP Max Scherzer 8 4, 2.26 is scheduled to face RHP Dan Straily 5 4, 3.58 in the rubber game of the series Wednesday Giancarlo Stanton Jersey afternoon. Scherzer has at least 10 strikeouts in each of his past five starts, and he leads the NL in ERA and strikeouts.